Snippet: The Exile's Fate

"Who then, truly, was to blame for The Exile's fall? Did he choose his own fate, by turning his back on his kin and attempting to take the power of the Tree of Life for his own? Were we to blame for casting him out and rejecting him?

I have thought long and hard on the events as they unfolded, and the intricate plots that unravelled as a result. The influence of the Bhaalspawn drew The Exile back to us, and forced the confrontation that nearly destroyed both of them and my city. When I now read the words of Alaundo, I sometimes wonder if those events had already been ordained by The Gods. Was The Exile merely the means to allow the Bhaalspawn to be elevated to their true destiny?"

- Queen Ellesime, ruler of Suldanessellar

Snippet: The Warrior's Judgement

So tall, so tall, she stands,
the warrior, the law, embodied in flesh.
She judges, her verdict final,
finality for those aware of their place.
Her servants fall, one by one,
but again and again they stand.
Divided they fall, but together they rise,
driven by her unfailing cause,
her unflinching duty from the Gods.

- Ravings of Aphril, inmate of Spellhold

Sneak Peek: Companion Preview 2

Previously I promised some screenshots of Veolus Wend, one of the two companions available in Fate of a City. During my current bugtesting, I thought I'd take a few screenshots and give you a taste of his appearance and personality.

If you read the description I previously gave of Veolus, you'll realise that Veolus is not one for kindness and benevolence.

However, while Veolus is ruthless, he is not entirely without emotion. There are people, places and ideals that he holds in high regard, and even his cold disposition can be softened at times.



You may get to know him much better very soon...

Status: Companionship

I'm not yet in the UK, but I've still got a computer at my disposal, albeit not my own. That said, I've still been able to work within the toolset in recent times, even though I can't actually run the game itself. While this is not conducive to many aspect of modding, it still enables me to do dialog and scripting, which I have been doing with great enthusiasm. Unfortunately, not being in a situation to my work illustrate with any screenshots, this post will be somewhat text-centric, but given that's been my work environment, it seems somewhat appropriate.

The bulk of work in question has been related to completing the conversations for the second companion within Fate of a City. To give you an indication of the depth and effort that has been put into these characters, I'll give some word statistics (which may scare some of you). At the current time, the current word count of the module is just shy of 140,000 words, with approximately 30,000 words dedicated to the various interjections, comments, and conversations of the two companions within Fate of a City. So while I wanted to include more party members so as to offer greater diversity and choice... I'm sure you can understand that the amount of work required to bring them to life so they wouldn't feel bland in comparison to the existing characters is no simple matter. So without further ado, here's an introduction to the second companion available within the walls of Darthall...

-----
Veolus Wend

Veolus is a priest who typically inspires very strong reactions to those that meet him, and those feelings are almost always negative, as his chosen deity is Bane. He is unyielding in his determination and ruthless in the pursuit of his goals. However, as to what they might be, Veolus is not forthcoming, as his service to the church is not a topic he cares to discuss.

Despite his faith, Veolus will ally with any who will tolerate his views, provided he thinks they are capable enough. However, if ostracised too much, Veolus would be more than happy to turn on previous friends, for any perceived enemy of the Black Hand is a target for divine retribution by his hand.
-----

Hopefully I'll add a couple of screenshots at a later date, though Veolus has already appeared in a few times in previous screenshot galleries.

This has represented a significant portion of the remaining work for Fate of a City, which means that the complete alpha version should be ready sooner rather than later. Then it comes down to testing the finished product... I only hope that phase goes as smoothly as it did for my Amstralloween contribution to BouncyRock's project! :)

Status: Out for a while

As I write this, virtually all my belongings are in boxes in transit to the UK. This also means that I'm about to depart my home in Australia to follow them, and as such, I'll be without a computer for at least the next few weeks.

However, with trusty pen, pencil and paper, I'll still be trying to get some work done on Fate of a City, in the form of writing out the conversations, scripts and perhaps jotting down a few notes to be used in the final stages of development when I manage to acquire a new system after my move.

But right now, I'm going to give a little more information about the companion influence system I've implemented in Fate of a City. Influence will be handled primarily through conversations, though there will be a few instances where your actions will directly impact upon your relationship with your companion(s). Many of the quests within the game will include conversation options that will affect your influence, and in addition, there will be other situational dialogs that will occur for a companion to provide you with some information or their opinion, which will also include the ability to gain (or lose) influence with them.


In addition, typically, just because you say one wrong thing does not mean that you will necessarily fall out of favour with a companion... though if you continue to disregard their opinion, they may not be happy about it. Of course, having (or lacking) a certain level of influence with a companion will help (or hinder) your relationship with them, so you may not wish to annoy them too much.

However, the last couple of days of modding haven't been without their annoyances. The one that's annoyed me most recently is a weird issue that I can only call a lighting issue, yet the problem persisted even when I removed all the lights from the area. Rather than try and explain the problem, I'll demonstrate through a screenshot...


This weird black area is actually a closed door, yet for some reason, it does not display nicely at all. Even more frustrating is that as soon as the door is opened, the problem goes away, and even if the door is shut again, the area is not in shadow. In addition, if I use a "see-through" door - such as a gate or portcullis, then there is no issue either. It's as though the game thinks that the southern side of the doorway (this is a N/S oriented door) is "unexplored". After several hours of fruitlessly banging my head against the toolset (and repeatedly going in game to test) in the hope of fixing the problem, I was eventually forced to rework my interior design to avoid the problem. I'd curious as to whether anyone has encountered a similar issue, or has any clue as to the cause (or even better, a solution!).

Final note/question: Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should/shouldn't buy a computer/computer parts in the UK once I arrive?

Sneak Peek: Companion Preview

I know I made a post just yesterday, but I thought I'd make another post to cover one of the companions in 'Fate of a City', as well as to provide some rough information about interacting with the companions. This is because recently, I've been doing a lot of work on the various aspects of dialog for one of the companions, whose name is Kyandra.

-----
Kyandra Daarzir

Kyandra is a brave and fearsome warrior who learned her trade while traveling in merchant wagons around Sembia, Cormyr and beyond. Though circumstances have currently brought her to Darthall, she is not overly fond of the city, and would prefer to not be confined by its walls.


Kyandra has a good heart, and is a stalwart companion to those she trusts, but she is not regarded fondly by many in the town. Kyandra's prowess in battle is great, and when she chooses to wield an axe against a foe they have a right to fear her.

-----

Now, I also said above that I'd cover interacting with companions in 'Fate of a City'. For starters, the companions are very pro-active within the party. They will have something to say in many conversations, whether giving their opinion on the actions the player or others, or to mention something relevant that they know. In addition, at certain times and places, both companions will initiate conversations about various events, locations or people, not to mention that they may be interested in finding out about you.

How you react in these situations will have an effect on the character's opinion of you, and you may well find that they react differently to you depending on how you've treated them or other people in the past. If you keep pushing their patience too far, you might find that their opinion of you drops considerably. That might be something to keep in mind before you choose to repeatedly malign their opinions or ignore their requests. But, you may also find that you can develop a closer relationship with them if you so desire.

Of course, you can also choose to initiate dialog with them to ask them a few different things, and again, they will react different based upon various circumstances, including how much the companion likes the player and also any quests the player might currently have.

And finally, if you decide you don't like the companions, you can always tell them that you don't want their help or company. Though even the most stalwart adventurer may want a friend to help them when danger could be lurking around any corner in the city...

(PS If you read my status update yesterday, it may have changed a little depending on how early you saw it.)

Status Update 18-May: Screenshot Bonanza

Yes, I know, there aren't any screenshots visible in this post. But rather than posting the occasional screenshot here in the blog, I've been saving up some over a few days to post them in one big group. This way, I can include a link to a screenshot gallery so that people can view them all eighteen of them in one place. Also, if you've got an opinion on me posting one or two screenshots here occasionally or saving them up for a post like this, I'd like to hear it!

If you flick through those screenshots, you'll notice a new party member by the name Veolus Wend. Veolus is a rather poor tempered individual that very rarely receives a favourable reception from others, but he does not endear himself to others. Veolus is a hard man with very little time for others, for his prime concern is himself.

I also hope that the dialog screenshots give you a good indication of the quality of the dialog you can expect (and I hope you like what you see!). Not only are options and outcomes dependent on your abilities and skills, but expect to be able to choose from a variety of different answers. Your answers will have consequences, whether it is the immediate consequence of an alignment change, an NPC reacting less favourably, or even more far-reaching than that...

Also, I'm interested to know whether people are interested in having crafting implemented in the module. I'm still debating this decision myself, though I'm leaning towards trying to implement the OC/MotB system so as to provide players with a familiar experience and to limit the amount of additional effort required - adding in a whole new crafting system isn't exactly a small undertaking. So please, vote away on my latest poll and comment freely!

NB. Yes, I know I wrote "particular" instead of "particularly" in the middle poll option. I've made a mental note to pay more attention when I'm creating polls, as it's not possible to change them after the first vote! :-(

Status Update 21-Feb: First Look at Dialog

Another quick one just to let everyone know things are going smoothly. I've been working on an Inn, trying to get that busy and semi-crowded look and sound perfected - plus, the player has to have somewhere to sleep! I've also been doing some dialog - just tweaking things to make characters have a little more personality and individuality. To that end, here's a couple more screenshots.

The first of a heated discussion between two characters - Kyandra (on the left) and Gershum (the orc on the right). If you've been looking at previous posts, you might recognise that this exchange occurs in the market district. I will say that Kyandra will probably feature in a few more screenshots down the track, as she has the potential to play a significant role in the events within Darthall. That is, if you choose to let her.


The second is an encounter with someone who has a troubled mind, and getting through to someone so touched may not always be a simple task...


My dialogs are aimed at letting the character play their desired persona. If you wish to be an altruistic savior, then you certainly can. However, should you choose to be a greedy, merciless killer, then you're still catered for. The one thing to remember is that how you treat people may affect events in the future. For sometimes a kindly act is rewarded, and other times it may turn out to place a new enemy in your path, so be prepared to live with the consequences of your actions...